Hold Me at Daggerpoint
by Lyrei
Summary: Kerning City is locked in a dirty turf war with Nexon Corp, and thieves don't play nice- they play dirty. We're dealing with arsonists, mind control, vicious assassinations, torture served with a side of interrogations and unrivalled espionage. Delicious.
1. kerning will stand when all else falls

Quick a/n: I'm looking for a beta. One that's familiar with action/real time kind of stuff, and one that doesn't mind _tons _of bad language. Sure, it's in bad taste, but I've noticed that criminals don't speak like dapper gentlemen from the 16th century. (If they did it would be downright _weird_.) Oh, and one that doesn't mind adult themes and brackets.  
I don't really want my grammar/spelling checked, but it's always a bonus :), but more my plot is bad/ideas suck/too many italics/am I moving too slow or too fast/is this confusing/this is confusing, change it!/ohmegawd, he just used six swear words in a ten word sentence, change plz/this chapter sounds really half-hearted, rewrite pl0zz/hmm it'd sound nicer if you wrote it like _this _insted of **this**/ stuff like that. (:

I know that's asking quite a lot but if there's anyone out there that wants to give it a shot, PM me please!

* * *

This is a story of an:  
Alice falling down rabbit holes  
a God burying himself in an urban land  
a decadent and debauched Peter Pan and  
the runaway shadow of a gingerbread man.

Hey, no one ever said that living in Kerning City would be _easy._

_Ha ha._

There is no god, thus exists the _gangland_.  
The gangland exists and thus there is _no god_. (except from Lukas, because Lukas is _special_)

* * *

I. ALPHA

The CC phone flashed to life, the numbers on the left hand corner blinking- 8:15:20.

YOU HAVE 33 UNREAD MESSAGES

kent you bastard have you made the delivery yet? client is hopping mad

FROM: Korey  
8:05:17 PM

YOU HAVE 32 UNREAD MESSAGES

raid is still on at 22:00

FROM: Lukas  
8:09:34

YOU HAVE 31 UNREAD MESSAGES

you annoying son of a balrog why aren't you answering your texts? don't bother answering if you're dead if you aren't I'm killing you tmr

FROM: Joe  
8:12:51

DELETE ALL MESSAGES: YES/NO  
YES

Kent laughed and stubbed out his cigarette on the concrete floor, tossing the butt over the side of the high-rise apartment flat. _Well Joe, I never knew you cared, _he smirked to himself. He sighed as remembered the first text. Korey was probably going to be _very _angry with him, but he didn't really feel worried about that. Kent didn't think he could be bothered to feel worried at that moment anyway. Everyone had only one life to live, didn't they? Well he definitely wasn't going to spend his as a worrier. Still, he'd better take care of it before he was accused of neglecting everything the gang stood for. Which according to Korey, was drugs and supplying them to the suckers who bought them. _Such a drama queen, Korey is. _

_Dial._

…

_Ring._

…

_Ring._

"What." Alex held the CC phone to his ear and frowning as he lifted the cap off his dyed red hair. He glanced in the toilet's cracked mirror and groaned as he ran a hand through his thick red hair. Damn it, the dark brown roots were starting to show. He'd have to head to Dr. Andre's and get it touched up. At least the good doctor didn't charge a bloody premium like he did for non-gang members. Alex would rather go around with two-tone hair than pay the price the normals did.

Kent rolled his eyes as he waited patiently for Alex to regain his senses. The kid wasn't usually this slow, even when he had just woken up or was drunk on power elixers. "Is your caller ID broken?"

_Oh god it's Kent Walker…! _Alex's eyes widened; it wasn't often one of the higher-ups called him themselves- this call could make or break a gang member. "Sorry," he said quickly, "didn't know who it was."

"Obviously," Kent sounded amused. He half-heartedly considered lighting up another cigarette, but decided against it. He'd gotten his nicotine fix already, and any more would just be a waste. Plus, chain smokers were disgusting. "Hey, I want you to make a delivery. 50 grams of fairy dust to Perion. Perion's been IDed with brown hair and eyes, wearing a skull shirt and cap. Weapon's a Vaulter 2000. Level 43. Male."

Alex nodded into the receiver, even though Kent couldn't see it. "Will do, boss."

CALL ENDED  
00:02:47

* * *

II. BRAVO

"Quiet tonight, innit?"

There was a silence as Kent took a long drag of his cigarette. He'd gone through a pack already, but he didn't think he was addicted. It was just another thing he liked to do; a dedication. You either smoked or did drugs in Kerning. If you didn't do either, you were either a kid or a cop. Or, he thought vaguely fondly of a certain homeless person, a philosopher. Kent frowned. Or maybe he was just another crazy- it was hard to tell the difference these days.

A shuffle.

A pleading, crooning sound. "Hey, Walker…"

"No."

A pout that Kent easily ignored. He ground the cigarette against the wall and chucked it away, watching is it dropped to the ground. "Everyone's been a bit worried 'bout you, mate. Who d'you reckon's gonna come after you first?"

"Your mum. She's been missing me quite a bit, 'asn't she?" Kent mocked Icarus' accent. The teen frowned at him but made no noise. It wouldn't do to mouth off to a JR. Leader, a sort-of mate or not. He didn't want to be a dead man walking any time soon. Plus, it was almost kind of funny if a bit crude. But crude was the best you got in Kerning on a good day when a savage beating was the alternative. "You're stoned off your mind, Ic."

The teen nodded. "Yeah, but I'm runnin' out, sadly enough. Got some more magic powder on you?" Kent didn't move. "The black ones," Icarus elaborated, hoping that Kent was in a good mood. The man was inscrutable most days, and if he wasn't in a good mood, then all Icarus would be taking tonight were pain meds for the savage beating he'd get.

"You've got expensive tastes," Kent frowned, and Icarus let out a sign of relief quietly. Good mood, then. Kent didn't like the request though. Black magic powder was quite a commodity here, everywhere. The normals wanted it for making their weapons or whatever, the druggies wanted to snort it up their noses. Ergo, it was hard to get. His gang was lucky to have found steady suppliers. "Have you got the money to back it up then?"

Icarus smiled lazily, his eyes automatically going up to the dying sun. It looked, he thought, like a giant egg yolk. "You know me, Kent." _No, I 'aven't got any money. _A kid with his head down barged past him, muttering an insincere apology as he started talking quietly and rapidly to Kent. Icarus could catch a few strands of the whispered conversation.

"I thought… ID-ed, he told me, ID-ed… the little idiot. A plant. Damn. A plant."

Shrugging, Icarus left the little alley and headed back to his perch right next to the Niora hospital. Jokingly to himself, he thought that he was in a good place if he ever fell off that perch. A sudden thought occurred to him that made him laugh bitterly. Far too bitter for a teenager, but bitter enough for a Kerning one.

The sun never really was going to set, was it?

Icarus smiled to himself. He should probably say something to the sun right about now. Something about how being alone sucked, maybe some metaphors. Maybe try to mutter a silent prayer to his dead dad and ask for forgiveness for all the shit he had done.

The teen smiled again and shook his head.

Nah. Kerning City didn't have a place for poets. Or for people with hearts, for that matter.

* * *

III. CHARLIE

TO: Agent W  
FROM: Agent E  
SUBJECT: KPO

Kerning Purge Ops isn't going well. All attempts to infiltrate prominent organizations have failed, and some operatives have vanished. Recovery teams have been sent out, but so far there has been no success.  
We have tried to extract assistance from the Dark Lord, but he refuses to cooperate, and we can't legally take action against the Wise Men of Victoria, nor do we have the resources.  
Nexon Corp refuses to fund us any longer until they see results, such as the takedown of a prominent organization. They are threatening to remove us from the case and turn it over to the GMs. This is unacceptable. A scanned document is attached.

Requesting further orders.  
E.

ATTACHMENTS: (censored)  
DO NOT FW WITHOUT RANDOM BIT ENCYRPTION

TO: Agent E  
FROM: Agent W  
SUBJECT: Re: KPO

SPO has failed after the Flaming Raccoons synchronized with other minor gangs in Showa to launch an attack against our units. Nexon Corp has dissolved our units in Showa and sent in their own. You should have seen it on the news.

Gang activity has been off the charts for some time, E. All attempts to cull it have failed. I have doubts about the KPO as well, so you should get ready to move your units out ASAP before the Hunter units of the Nexon Corp move in. They can't seem to recognize friendlies. There is a chance that they may synch with you. Kerning is the criminal capital after all.

Special Investigator Popo has been taken as hostage by the Flaming Raccoons. Hostage-taking is a favourite with gangs. Take care of your own, E.

W.

TO: Agent W  
FROM: Agent E  
Subject: Nexon Corp & KPO

You are right. Nexon Corp sent over various GM units today and forcibly synched with our units today at 03:51. Hunter, Investigative and an Alpha unit were included.

They are far more ruthless than I thought, W. I mean the Alpha unit, of course. I have heard the rumours, but they are every bit as cold as I thought. There are only five in the unit, and any attempt to converse with them about the infrastructure of the Alpha unit has been brushed aside.

Monsters have been sent in to deal with monsters, W. Is this effective?

E.

TO: Agent W  
FROM: Agent E  
Subject: RE: Alpha units

I fear for Kerning City, not for the welfare of the Alpha Unit.

W.

* * *

IV. DELTA

"Hey, Liz. Take a look at this," Kade laughed. He swiveled the screen over to his friend, watching her waste no time in scanning the document. A moment later, she laughed shortly.

"Our Agent friend is a blabbermouth," Lysanne said, flippantly tossing her glossy blonde hair over her shoulder. "But we can't get rid of her… She's from the whatsit. SIG, they call themselves." Kade nodded. The Special Investigation Group was a pain in Nexon Corp's butt. There had been talks of wiping them completely, but nothing had ever gone through, and Kade doubted that it ever would. SIG was getting to be too big an organisation to quickly dispose of.

Kade shrugged away his thoughts and tapped a few more lines of code into the computer, smiling to himself as it was quickly processed and executed. Call him a technogeek, but the equipment from Omega Sector handled like a dream. It hadn't been terribly professional to nick it from the facilities like they had done, but Alpha units weren't really known for being conventional. They were just borrowing it, anyway. For quite a long time.

_EXECUTION: 100% COMPLETE_

He now had eyes and ears to SIG's every technological move. And seeing as SIG was one of those ultra high-tech organizations, he had access to everything they did. But information down to the click was terribly annoying, so he set a few trigger words.

_KPO, SPO, NEXON CORP, NEXON, ALPHA UNIT_

There, that had to be enough for now. He set the trigger count to five before he was alterted and sent the file. Wouldn't do to have every little thing clogging up his memory now, would it? He blinked once, and immediately sixteen documents opened in front of him. Kade sighed. Honestly, he had to get an assistant to read these for him. But it was totally illegal to hack into SIG's network of mainframes slash supercomputers, and he couldn't bring himself to trust sensitive information to anyone outside their Alpha unit. But everyone was busy, and Liz had left, the little skiver. He cracked his knuckles.

So.

_Back to work, Kade._

* * *

V. ECHO

Kent checked his watch, the bright neon numbers dully telling him it was 21:02. Too early for the drug raid on the boat from Orbis tonight, too late to have dinner. He gritted his teeth at what had made him miss said dinner: the police plant. They were really stepping up their game, the police. Korey, that son of tramp, had told him the Perion client had been ID-ed! A more thorough check by the resident techno whizzes revealed that there was nobody listed in the Nexon Corp database going by that name, and the ID card was in fact unregistered.

A fake, to be precise.

The cigarette in his hand was crushed, Kent noted, and he let it fall to the ground unlit. He was going to have words with Korey, and maybe more than that. For god's sake, the man had never gotten stuff like that wrong before, and Kent didn't want him starting now! Now that the police were wising up to them, they had to step up their defence too. There wasn't any room for sloppiness in the gangland these days. If you were sloppy, you got caught and that was that. The gang didn't have place for people who were going to get them caught.

"Hey handsome, going to PC?" A tall leggy brunette winked at him, her long sweeping eyelashes brushing against her cheek. She was gorgeous, and looked like an airbrushed model straight off the pages of the glossy NX Fashion magazines in extremely form-fitting clothes, but with a tad too much make up. PC stood for Party Central, a place notorious for it's drug scene, extreme violence and other... _activities_. Well, it wasn't like he had anything to do, so he hit the party scene with an arm around the brunette's slim waist.

An hour of _drugsexkissesdancemusicdrugs _later, Kent dumped the brunette in an alley with a few throwing stars in her head. Someone from the guild would pick up the body later and dispose of it, because he wasn't going to mess around with some rotting corpse. He picked up her ID card and raised an eyebrow at the name etched onto the plastic. Well, Kino Kinoko should have stuck to her sweeping job, because if she was going to sign up as an undercover cop, you'd think she'd be a little cleverer going about it. Kent shook his head as he rummaged for her CC phone, his fingers not lingering for a second more than neccessary (she was a corpse, and he didn't really go for that). Kino Kinoko must've not been on top form that night.

Badgering him about drugs and his guild slash gang every few minutes? Honestly, what an amateur. Before Kent could go on and on making snide comments about the girl's ability, his CC phone rang loudly, playing an obnoxious tune that came on a commercial for some stupid kid's toy.

_Hungry hungry balrogs  
__Hungry hungry balrogs  
__Hungry hungry balr-_

"Lukas." Kent laughed quietly as he flipped off a few curious onlookers. His ring tone for Lukas was weird, yeah, but at least he knew immediately who was calling. That, and it pissed his guild master off _immensely _when he heard that. Annoying Lukas wasn't smart of him, but he'd be damned if it wasn't fun. "How's tricks?"

"Remember your appointment with the hairdresser? If you don't hurry up, you're gonna miss it."

Kent blinked and glanced at his watch. Damn, he was going to be late. It was 22:08 already, and the ship was probably going to be heading into Sixtopia. "Ah, sorry. I'll head to the salon ASAP."

"Good. Your hair's getting a bit shaggy."

He didn't bother grabbing a taxi, instead just keying in the co-ordinates of Ellinia to his phone: 101000300 to be precise. The techs had ripped the technology off the VIP teleport rocks and synched it with their CC phones. Sure, there had been a few bad mistakes, like missing body parts and the like, but Kent had never missed any of his limbs and he'd never met the poor shmucks who tested the device. He hit the red teleport button on the touch screen of his CC phone and blinked once. When he opened his eyes again, he was at Ellinia station. No ceremony, no unpleasant feelings and with all limbs attached and functional. Just the way he liked it.

"Chuck your phone to Joe, Kent," Lukas barked at him immediately, "Joe, show him what we picked up a few hours ago."

Ah, Lukas. Ever the dictator, minus the unfashionable moustache, Kent thought to himself. Still, the man was _his _dictator and a good friend at that, so he shrugged and gave his phone to Joe. He did wonder why Lukas wanted to get his phone off him, and to give it to Joe- a surefire sign he wasn't going to get it back intact. He allowed himself to mourn his loss of contacts for one second before pulling himself back together. He managed to drop the CC phone he managed to relieve Kino Kinoko of into Lukas' hand. Joe tended to get a little volatile what with his pyromaniac tendencies when he was angry. Ergo, he burned anything within three metres of him. Kent took three careful steps backwards. He didn't feel like being barbeque meat today, thanks very much.

"The techs picked up this at 20:02:31 today. CC firewalls went up immediately of course, since I programmed that _myself_, but the bugs disabled the firewalls. Then _this _happened."

Joe held up his own CC, showing Kent the scrolling field of text and symbols that meant absolutely nothing to him. He was a hitman, a paid killer if you wanted to put it bluntly. He didn't have a head for technology like Joe did. "English, please."

"I'll give you english. Every single bleeding computer, CC and electronic device we had control over went down," Joe snapped angrily, flames bursting from his Kage. The fire engulfed Kent's CC phone and turned it into a thick goo of melted plastic, rendering it useless "Total blackout, technologically. English enough for you? It lasted for 07:03, then the systems went up. Everyone thought it was just a glitch, y'know? But guess what happened when we did a system sweep?"

"What."

"Spyware. Millions of the little bugs. Spin the clock back an hour and a half- the system was spotless. 7 minutes and 3 seconds of system failure later, we had bugs."

Kent nodded thoughtfully, looking at the molten plastic dripping from his friend's hand. If it hurt, Joe didn't seem to notice or care. Kent admired that, because it looked bloody painful to him. Maybe fire mages got resistant to heat over time. That would come in handy at times, Kent thought to himself. "Not a coincidence, then."

"No," Joe agreed, wiping the plastic on some passing teen in disgust. The teen looked like he was about to complain, but wisely kept his mouth shut. "The bugs all had the same signature, originating from one network. Guess what the network was?"

"Do tell."

"NXC-138273. The government," Joe spat, slamming the bottom of his Kage into the wooden platform. "They've sent the bloody cavalry after us, Kent. And you know what _that_ means, Kent, and don't give me innocence."

Kent nodded again, letting a smile flit across his face briefly. Hell, he knew it had been coming for some time, and it felt like he could let out a breath of relief. The wait was over.

"War."

Joe smiled condescendingly at him. "Smart cookie. Gold sticker for that, Kent." Worried, he looked at his hand which had turned an attractive lobster red and the skin had started to peel. Kent winced. Not pretty. "Bloody _ow. _Get me a flippin' cleric!"

* * *

VI. Foxtrot

**You have an instant message from: LYSANNE**

Lysanne: kino's dead. her cc sent her vitals to us moments before it was destroyed

Kade: thought so. i have a feeling for these kind of things. i knew she wasnt gonna make it

Lysanne: thats a bit cold even coming from you

Kade: hey thats life liz

Lysanne: whatevs

**Lysanne has logged off**

Kade: blonde princess

Kade: dammit, she logged off on me

…

TO: Lysanne  
FROM: Kade  
SUBJECT: What was that for?

That mushroom girl made you log off on me? Uncalled for

TO: Kade  
FROM: Lysanne  
SUBJECT: YOU INSENSITIVE PRICK

She's dead and all you said was thought so? SO called for!

TO: Lysanne  
FROM: Kade  
Subject: WHAT

People die all the time, Liz. You don't see clerics crying for every one of them

**You have an instant message from: LYSANNE**

Lysanne: im gonna go to pc coz you made me DEPRESSED

Lysanne: if dan finds my dead and naked body in some RUBBISH BIN in fusion bar

Lysanne: you can tell him that YOU made me go down there

Lysanne: hate you hate you hate you hate you!

**Lysanne has logged off**

Kade: sob sob sob sob

TO: Lysanne  
FROM: Kade  
SUBJECT: Re: Your death

If you die can i have your mesos? Pretty please with a cherry on top

* * *

**Techno**logical **war**.  
People can have streetfights, people can aim their little weapons around and Henesysians can pretend they're still living in medieval times.  
Well, whatever makes sense in their little minds. Honestly, with pistols and claws, and a mixture of the two, who needs metal sticks and bows anymore? Magic, now that's fascinating. It still can't really be fully explained by science. Still a bit mysterious. That was why I chose it.

**Techno**savant.  
That's what they call me. Brilliant with technology, a bit of an idiot with normal things. I can barely make toast, and that's nothing to be proud of. I could learn, but what would be the fun in that? I live for the _fun_. I once tried to stop messing about with computers, coz sitting in front of a screen twenty four seven isn't my idea of fun. I went out and killed a bunch of sea monsters in Aqua Road Dungeon, and it was kinda fun, if a little bit repetitive. But Lukas had a quiet talk with me, so I've never done it again. Still, it had been fun.

**Lukas**.  
A good boss. I'm scared of him, but who isn't? He doesn't mind getting his fingers dirty every now and then. He's a condemned man anyway, he says, but I don't think so. He's off the NXC database: no mention at all, for some scary reason. Even I'm on it. Not sure when Lukas turned up at Kerning, but personally, I think he's god. You have to be, to survive as a gang leader in KC. He's done good though. He managed to hire Kent Walker, the man notorious for turning up his pretty little nose at what we call 'gang loyalty' and gangs in general.

**Kent** Walker.  
Scary as Zakum, if you ask me. The thing that bugs me is that Kent's been smoking for years now, and he hasn't got the smoker's cough or anything. His fingers aren't even nicotine-stained for god's sake! But he's a good guy, for a Kerning hermit. Well, not really a good guy. But he hasn't tried to sell me drugs, at least, and that's saying something when you live in Kerning. He used to be the top hired assassin, never sticking to one gang. But Lukas managed to get him, which has got lots of gang leaders scratching their heads as to how he did that. But they can keep wondering. Lukas is god, and it's not that surprising that he managed to get Kent. God of Kerning, we joke in our coffee breaks. God of Kerning. Well, if Lukas is God then Kent has to be some minor deity of war and everything that's gone bad with the world. Hold on, I'll get a clip of his interview and give it to you in the next chapter of this twisted "research" of mine.

**Kerning **City. (KC)  
Shittiest hell hole you can land yourself in. We call it HH in shorthand, because we're just so bloody classy. Let me just say this, though: no one comes or stays in Kerning by _choice_. Except maybe Lukas but he's God, isn't he?

**Nexon **Corp.  
Shorthand: NXC. We don't like to talk about the guv, because that's when crazy shit starts to happen. People start to disappear, or turn into one of those zombies you see in El Nath. Or if you're one of them unlucky ones, NXC just offs you and leaves our carcass out as a warning: don't mess with the guv. We've got plenty of disappearings over the years: never heard of those poor saps again. I combed every NXC computer just to find any mention of 'em, but apart from the normal mentions, **nada**. It's plain creepy, that's what it is.

Anyway, I'm Joe. Just Joe no last name. They're overrated anyway.

CC phone: Comm-Cator Phone  
CC: Comm-cator  
DP: Daggerpoint. That's the name of our gang slash guild. Gangs are quite a different thing from guilds, actually. Gangs aren't guilds and guilds aren't gangs. Simple, hey?

There, that'll get you through this. What's this, you ask? This is nothing, really. Just a little project of mine that Lukas has chosen to ignore. Sometimes I like to pretend that Lukas doesn't know about it, but that's a lie. Lukas is god; he knows everything. It's just a small collection of blurry film clips (bloody surveillance cameras hadn't been upgraded), email excerpts... small little technological echoes, really. Echoes of Daggerpoint's bloody clash with NXC. Most of us would just like to forget it, you know? Stick our heads down and get on with it. But I'm just weird, I guess. I don't want to let go. No, actually. That's wrong.

I _can't_ let go of it.


	2. he wished for a one sided coin

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

_Ha._

Yeah, _right_.  
Being meek never gets you anywhere.  
You have to learn to push and shove to get anywhere in life. Lukas didn't stand there and let the world pass him by. He _murdered_ his place to the top of Kerning, and that is how the rest of the 'god's of Kerning will rule.

* * *

I. ALPHA

**blackcoon has joined the chat  
whitecoon has joined the chat  
redcoon has joined the chat**

whitecoon: wat do u think about the alliance offer

redcoon: trap

blackcoon: trap

whitecoon: for god's sake it's not always a trap!

blackcoon: wat do they call themselves anyway?

redcoon: trap

blackcoon: oh shut up why dont you

whitecoon: their guilds called daggerpoint

whitecoon: pretentious innit

redcoon: i cant blieve your actually CONSIDERING this

redcoon: this has trap written all over it

whitecoon: quiet red

whitecoon: have u forgotten what nxc did to us

blackcoon: & their stronger than they were 5 yrs ago

redcoon: fine

redcoon: but i wont like this k

redcoon: when they spring the trap on us

redcoon: i want u all 2 no

redcoon: that red said it was a trap 1st

…

TO: blackcoon  
FROM: whitecoon  
Subject: (none)

Oh for fuck's sake!

* * *

II. BRAVO

"This is insane, Lukas," Kent snapped. He paced quickly across the large, grimy room, a hand running through his dark blonde hair in irritation. In retrospect, that probably wasn't such a great idea. The room was a welding area in one of the giant factories. Every time Kent took a step, he kicked up fine metal dust that got into his clothes and made his eyes sting. He couldn't help but grimace at the horrible colour of his hair- he had to get it touched up with Don Giovanni, and the appointment was in _five minutes. _If he didn't hurry it up quick, he was going to miss his appointment. Kent didn't like having ugly hair. "You can't declare war on the fuckin' government!" he snapped. "Drugs, gambling, protection rackets… that we can handle good. Hell, we'd take down any turf war quick and easy."

"But not a turf war with the government?" Lukas raised an eyebrow challengingly. The man was an adept at making him feel stupid, Kent thought angrily. "Don't shortchange the members, Kent. Joe and the rest can take their technological department easy. _You _can deal with any foot soldiers. Korey and his minions can do espionage. We could _win_."

Kent sighed, finally hopping up onto a silent machine. It was nose-itch irritating, the way Lukas made all his worries look childish. "Yes, we _can _win. But _will _we? You make it sound so easy," he accused, eyes narrowing. "Look, NXC's the most powerful 'gang' out there. They're the _government_ for God's sake. They've got plants _everywhere. _All we need is some idiot little member mouthing off on SlimeBook and we're toast. Are you _stupid_?"

The hermit knew he'd gone too far when Lukas looked at him silently. Lukas didn't burn with rage when he was angry, he _froze. _That was always worse, Kent thought privately. You always knew where you were with blistering fury, but never with the cold, quiet ones.

"_Enough,_" Lukas said.

And when Lukas said things like that, you shut up quickly or died in his eyes. _(Later, you ended up dead for good.)_ Kent muttered a quiet but sincere apology, his eyes quickly going to the dirty ground in shock. Lukas was his guild leader first and foremost even if said guild leader treated him as a 'friend'. But Lukas didn't have friends, he had _servants_. _Never forget that,_ Kent told himself. People who did never lasted long.

"What do you want me to do?" he asked quietly.

"NXC sent an alpha unit," Lukas said, handing a sleek new CC phone to Kent. He nodded his thanks and took it, his inner geek marveling at how thin it was. The page open was the contacts list and there were only eight names on it. Three with actual contact numbers, five just names. Instead of saying whether their phones were online or off, it simply stated whether the person was alive. Or _not. _"I want them dead ASAP."

Kent nodded, pocketing the phone. It was logical. Alpha GM units meant _business_- the only part of NXC worth their salt. On the upside, there weren't that many of 'em. On the downside, the ones that were in the units were downright deadly. Kent wouldn't doubt that they would be evenly matched in close combat, but he was confident he'd overpower them. Alphas, like robots, lacked creativity, while he had lots of it.

In the end, Kent knew he'd win.

"Will do, boss."

It was just a straightforward job to him. Get in, murder a few people, get out. Then have a cup of power elixir or something. He was so very, very wrong. But before he left the welding room, Lukas caught his shoulder, the corner of his lips curving up into a sly smile. He long fingers played with a few strands of brown hair that shouldn't have been there.

"Your hair," the guild master said, knowing full well about Kent's appointment, and the fact that he had just missed it, "you might want to get it re-dyed."

* * *

III. We're _not_ military, let's stop _playing pretend.__  
GMBook:_

**Lysanne Harlern** So hung over… heading off to florina beach for some r&r xox  
3 hours ago _Comment Like Share  
_**Kade Allen **and **Daniel Brooks **like this.

**Kade Allen **Have fun but dnt 4get wat we need 2 do k?

**Daniel Brooks** I actually don't like this, Lizzy, but there isn't a dislike button and we've got time.

**Lysanne Harlern **Some1 needs to take a stick out of his butt~

**Kade Allen **hi5 girl!

**Daniel Brooks **I detest both of you right now.

**Kade Allen **hurted the babys feelings~

**Daniel Brooks **'Hurted' is not a word, dumb ass.

**Lysanne Harlern **quit being mean dan dan ):

**Kade Allen **yeah dan dan stop being mean

**...**

**Daniel Brooks **…Fuck. I'm heading over to Henesys too… all of you are doing my head in.  
3 hours ago _Comment Like Share  
_**Lysanne Harlern **and **Kade Allen **like this.

**Kade Allen** dan dan used a naughty word!

* * *

IV. he doesn't like archers.  
_Henesys Hunting Grounds I_

It wouldn't be so bad, Kent thought, if the kid used _any other skill _apart from the one he kept shouting out. Even a Double Shot would've been welcome. Henesys Hunting Ground I was full of dumb newbies shouting out the names of their skills, but the archer was just plain annoying. It didn't really matter if you yelled your skill name out _(like a moron, Kent couldn't help snickering)_. Didn't make your attacks more powerful.

"ARROW BLOW," the archer kid screamed again. A single arrow erupted from his bow straight into the head of the snail. Repeat twice, and you'd get a victory cheer and a migraine. The archer did have a good set of lungs on him, though.

"ARROW BL-"

"Kid, shut the hell up," Kent sniped, his eyes narrowing. He had an intense urge to just hurt something in the most violent way possible, but restrained himself. "Stop yelling, you'll just have a sore throat. You look and sound like an idiot."

The archer's lower lip wobbled, making Kent mentally growl in frustration. Great, now the kid was going to cry! Good going Kent, _really _good going there! But the kid didn't cry. Instead, his lips just thinned to a sharp line.

"Fine," he said quietly. Kent raised an eyebrow. Not a rich adventurer's son then, full of arrogance and swagger until they headed for the Kerning Party Quest and got mugged by a common street urchin. Kent surveyed the area and nodded to himself. Nothing out of the ordinary, except for the undercover Alpha GM still sitting on top of a block of hay, dozing off. But it wasn't as if he could just go up there and cut off the guy's head in plain sight, could he? Kent sighed, deciding to leave it for now. Daniel Brooks would live another death attempt-free day. _I hope he chokes on it, the bastard, _Kent thought viciously.

"What're you sighing for anyway? I thought people like you are freakin' perfect. You're like a walking cliché," the archer said bitterly. The hermit raised an eyebrow- what had crawled up the kid's ass and died? And what did he mean, walking cliché? He repeated that thought out loud.

The archer laughed shortly and hopped up on of the straw blocks. "Look at you," he said, rolling his eyes. "Tall, dark and handsome. A powerful hermit on top of that. You're everything my parents wanted. Tell me," the archer snapped, "are your parents proud of you? Or are they part of your _tragic past_?"

"Actually," Kent said a little awkwardly, "they're living in some part of Lith, ashamed as all hell that I didn't turn out to be a mage. If it makes any difference, kid, my hair's actually brown, I just dyed it black."

"Why?"

Kent shrugged, inwardly wondering why he was bothering. He should be dreaming up some plan to take down the GMs before Lukas started to get all pissy and make sly comments like he did. His guild leader thought everything was so easy. _Let there be death, and lots of it, he says_, Kent thought bitterly, _and lo and bloody behold, there is death. Also, the alpha unit is mysteriously taken down even though they've got more training than all of us put together._ "Well, it makes it less easy for people to see me in the dark," Kent offered. He had wanted dark blue because it blended better, but the salon didn't have that kind of dye, unfortunately.

"See, the perfect hermit," the archer spat sarcastically. He fiddled with the string of his Composite Bow, feeling a little awkward now that he had run out of steam and just a little horrified. He'd just insulted a hermit! A _strong _one at that, one of those no-nonsense types with all of their raised eyebrows and witty sarcasm. Smart, Matthias, _really _smart. But still, he was angry. This hermit thought he could flash jump into the hunting grounds and lord it all over them! Sure, they were just starting out as adventurers, maybe in a more privileged city than most, but they didn't need some prissy glorified _thief _to come waltzing in and insulting everyone.

"Woah," Kent said, more than a little alarmed. If the kid started creating a huge scene and woke the GM up, then he would be noticed. And that would be worse than bad. "What's with the offloading? Well, apologies to your royal highness if my little remarks made the baby cry. The skill-shouting _was _really annoying."

The kid's light brown eyes narrowed into slits. "You think you're so great and martyr yourself just because you live in Kerning. Don't protest," he said quietly as Kent started to object, "all thieves do it. _Oh,_" the kid put on a stupid-sounding, affected voice, "I live in _Kerning _and my throat isn't slit! I'm so much smarter than you because I manage to survive on a day-to-day basis!"

Kent blinked at the kid- what the Zakum was his problem? Got kill-stealed a little too much by a few wet behind the ears subi-throwing rouge? Hermit murdered his pet dog? Some kid bandit stole his piggy bank? Kent chuckled to himself at the last one and mentally congratulated himself. _Walker you are just getting sharper every day, _he smirked.

"Come with me, hermit. You might not think so much of yourself when you see what Henesys is hiding behind the stupid mushroom houses."

Without bothering to wait for an answer, the archer stormed out of the hunting ground, leaving behind mesos from fallen snails. Kent sat on the hay bale looking at them glitter balefully on the ground before he dove down and scooped them up, not minding the slimy goo covering the bronze coins in the slightest. What? Slimy mesos to spend were still mesos to spend.

"Shit." There were tons of people crowding the blocks of straw outside the hunting grounds: merchants screaming at the top of their lungs, advertising their stupid (and worthless) wares, pretty girls (_henesys whores, _Kent rolled his eyes) chatting loudly on flashy phones and flirting with anything on two legs, and then there were the beggars.

"Spare some mesos?" Kent grunted and kicked the annoying man away. He didn't do _charity, _god damn it. The poor could fend for themselves- heck, the guy didn't look disabled, just lazy. And maybe on some kind of Powder, Kent guessed.

But anyway, Kent smirked as he spotted the hunter sauntering off, the poor could fend for themselves. He had other things to do... Like find a troublesome archer.

* * *

_Such pitiless humans._

* * *

V: he doesn't want to talk about it.  
_  
Snapshot: _The backs of a couple holding hands, a girl with bright red hair that falls to her shoulders leaning against a man clad entirely in black. They are sitting on top of a construction crane, but neither of them is worried about falling. The cranes haven't moved in decades.

_Snapshot: _The girl's long hair falls into her eyes and her expression is grim. She is looking down at their intertwined hands and her mouth is moving silently.

"_I'm pregnant."_

_Snapshot: _The man looks coldly thoughtful, a calculating look in his dark brown eyes. He is looking away from the girl, and their hands are no longer joined together. The girl is looking down at her freely swinging feet, a sad smile on her face. The man's mouth is slightly open.

"_Lukas will not like this."_

You are Kent Walker. You do not say "my name is Kent Walker", you say "I _am_ Kent Walker", as if your name is something you are. Often, you speak in a quiet, authoritative way, a feature you've adopted from Lukas, your guild master, but you aren't afraid to raise your voice when needed. You are twenty-one years old, standing at one hundred and ninety-five point fifty-eight centimeters exactly. You weigh around seventy kilograms, a little too light compared to how tall you are. You have very light brown hair, a dirty blonde, but you often dye it a dark blue or black (you flip a coin to decide) to blend better into the darkness. Your eyes are dark brown, but you wear differently coloured lenses so often you've almost forgotten the exact shade of your irises. (Nexon Corp have cameras everywhere, and you feel that adopting a relatively permanent disguise would make you safer.) You feel that you are reasonably wealthy and have enough power in the thief guild you are a Junior Leader of, Daggerpoint.

And your girlfriend is _pregnant. _

You know that your guild master, Lukas, will not like that all. You need time to think, so you send your girlfriend, Angelina, back to the apartment you share. You do not ask her to go, you order her. You have given orders to everyone around you for so long that you can't even contemplate politely asking someone to do something anymore. Angel, your nickname for her, leaves quietly. She no longer flashes you that hurt look when you give her commands _(like an owner to his dog)_, a sign that she has been with you for far too long.

Your mind, ever quick and resourceful, immediately suggests an abortion.

But you have slight misgivings about that: abortions at Niora hospital are quite risky, and clerics willing to perform an abortion are few and far between. You don't even consider asking around for a priest or bishop to perform an abortion- you are not stupid, after all. You know the oath clerics take when they advance to priest: _there are only three situations where I will take human life. One, when my life is in mortal danger. Two, when the life of others are in mortal danger. Three, in the event of war. _Angel told you that herself. She is a cleric. You've always loved the cleric types.

Kill her.

You will keep that option to one side for now. You do not love Angel; you don't even try to convince yourself. But she has stuck with you for so long _(when she could have left without looking back)_, and there is a certain understanding between the both of you.

_(She could have stayed in Henesys and lived her life without fear of dying.)_

But she chose to stay, and she would have to bear the consequences. Briefly, you run through all the ways you could commit homicide. There are a lot of ways, you realise. You also realise that no one will care if she is dead, not even you. Her conservative Henesysian parents have disowned her _(you were __**anathema **__to them) _and her friends have faded away. You are her world now.

_(But she is not yours, and you do not love her.)_

You sicken yourself _(just enough to brush the cold fingertips of guilt away) _as you continue to think. But now there's an annoying buzzing in your head, so you stop thinking and wander back to your apartment. You have never referred to it as 'home'. Home is where the heart is, you have heard some romantic fool mutter _(he was stabbed to death by a rogue for his paltry mesos a few days later, you remember) _and you know that you have no heart _(so heartless)_, thus you have no home.

"Angel," you say in that quiet way of yours when you step into your apartment. You are careful to brush your shoes against a mat- you prefer your apartment to be relatively germ-free and spotless. Your nose detects a foreign odour: the smell of burnt wood- the minute you enter the tiny living room, and you recognize the person with that smell. Your neutral face immediately morphs into a grim expression, and your footsteps are now completely silent; your every movement cautious. You do not call out your girlfriend's name again when after a few seconds, she does not answer your call.

_(She will never answer again.)_

That does not surprise you as you walk slowly into the kitchen. The first thing you notice is the still body draped over the kitchen table.

(You vaguely remember one afternoon, when you weren't required by Lukas to do something or the other. It was in the early days of your brief relationship with Angel, and you are _**enchanted**_.

"Magic," you say as you watch the cake start to rise, with all of your childlike wonder. You have never watch a cake rise before- you live purely on fast food bought from the potion store. Fried chicken, pizza (and some ice cream pop if you're lucky) for breakfast, lunch and dinner, you are _**fascinated**_.

Angel is a very pretty girl, you can't help thinking.

She is pretty when she heals the tiny cuts and bruises of little rogues who have strayed too far into the alleys, giving them sweets to ease the pain and making comforting sounds as they struggle not to cry _(not because of pain but because of her kindness). _

She is pretty when she labours feverishly over the freshly bleeding injuries of you and your guild members when a rival gang decides to try once more to challenge the dominance of Lukas' guild _(your guild). _She is even prettier when she slips off at night and attends to the rival gang members who cannot afford to go to the hospital and have no cleric to heal them.

She is pretty when she props her head on her flour-covered hands and unconsciously smiles sweetly at you as you watch the cake rise. When you take your first tiny bite of the strawberry sponge cake, you feel that her smile is even sweeter than the strawberries.

You are _**attracted.**_)

"You are too pretty for me," you say aloud, though you know that she cannot hear you _(now or ever again)_. There is a note a few centimeters away from her sprawled hand. You reach over and pick it up.

"_She will not wake, Kent. Not again. Everything about her is frozen: her heartbeats, her breath, the __**fetus in her womb**__. But she is still alive. And the cleaners do not clean away the living, only the dead._

_You know what you were getting into when you agreed, Kent. How irresponsible of you, my friend, __**especially **__because of who she was. You ignored every piece of my advice… do not forget who is the master of your life. And if it comes down to it, your death._

_Hopefully, it will not go to that degree. Still, I am disappointed."_

You pull out a wooden chair, wincing slightly at the harsh sound of wood on concrete. You know what Lukas wants you to do- yes, it is Lukas who has left that note. The scent of fire gives him away quite easily, and you also know that it is intentional: Lukas wants you to know that he has left that note.

Without skipping a beat, you draw out a steely. Ilbis are too large and crude, you feel. You don't want to decapitate your sleeping Angel after all. You don't bother saying whispered goodbyes or apologies because in the end, it is what she has chosen. You have given her many chances to leave; even ordered her to, but she chose to stay. She had _begged you _to take her away from the safe haven of Henesys to the Kerning hellhole.

_(And thus this is her fate.)_

Without ceremony, you stab her in three places: through the skull, the heart and her neck. With your unbloodied hand, you take out your CC phone and press a single number on the digital keyboard. You notice the four digits at the side of the touch screen.

It is 20:07 p.m.

_(And your Angel is dead.)_

* * *

VI. there are two sides of a coin: heads and tails, light and dark, rich and poor, mansions and slums. what he would give for a one-sided coin.

"Hey, kid." Kent could feel the irritation radiating off the archer and his lips curved up into a smirk. It was a little irrational, he thought, because the boy had never even mentioned his name. What was Kent supposed to call him? _Sir? _He laughed quietly to himself.

"What?" the kid said waspishly, fixing his eyes straight ahead. He could see the dark outlines of the bored guards at the security checkpoint and swallowed nervously. The guards always hassled him and any other Henesysian who liked to pass through. They weren't very kind to adventurers who had accidentally stumbled on them too. As a result, not everyone who went through the checkpoint always went back. A little too much lip, a little too much boredom and alcohol, and the NXSC (Nexon Sanitation Crew) would arrive on the scene to pick up a body. The family of the dead would simply close their curtains (if they had any) and everything would go on as normal for a while. Annoyingly, the hermit didn't answer him, even having the gall the walk ahead of him and greeting the guards as old friends.

"Rob, Nero," he nodded at them, grinning slightly. Sure, the two of them were NXC grunts, but as far as Kent was concerned, they were friends. "How's tricks? NXC planning anythin' I need to know about?"

The guards' previously bored expressions became face-splitting smiles. "Walker! Who needs enemies when we've got friends like you," Nero slapped the hermit on the back. His grey eyes went to meet Matthias' and they narrowed. "Matthias Henderson. What are you doing with the likes of Walker?"

Matthias was too stunned to answer, but the hermit- Walker- saved him by effortlessly lying their way through the checkpoint. How could an outsider just waltz into suburban Henesys like that? It was… kind of amazing, Matthias had to admit. The man's charisma was enviable, not that Matthias would tell him that. The hermit's head was way too large for his own good.

"How's Angel, man?" Kent quickly smoothed his face into an expression of utter nonchalance and said something assertively positive. What was unimportant was that Angel was dead, but what was important was that _he _had killed _her_. Kent had once been called a calculating bastard, and to be honest, he thoroughly agreed with that statement. _(It didn't stop him from killing its' speaker though.) _Kent noticed that her name piqued a flash of recognition and interest from the kid archer, and he mentally frowned. Angel had been pretty well-known in Henesys _(she was so pretty and kind)_. He shouldn't have asked someone like her out on a date, but he had.

_("How irresponsible of you, my friend, __**especially **__because of who she was." Lukas is a bastard, but he was right.)_

A few more pleasantries later, they were ushered through the checkpoint without ceremony. Matthias hadn't even needed to pull out his ID pass- the guards had just fixed him with a stony stare and shoved him ungently pass the checkpoint.

"Mr. Hermit," Matthias started, and he immediately felt stupid as said hermit arched his eyebrows and looked incredulously at him. He flushed in embarrassment, but stood his ground. He wasn't comfortable with using the man's last name, so the moniker would have to do. "How do you know Miss Angel?"

"I dated her." The man didn't sound particularly thrilled about that fact, and Matthias frowned. Angel was the nicest person on the planet when she was in Henesys, and the man that had _stolen _her from them didn't seem to care. _Jerk, _he spat viciously in his head. He didn't deserve someone like Angel. "She was… nice, wasn't she?"

"Yes," Matthias agreed, "is she doing alright in Kerning?"

The hermit shrugged, but privately Kent knew that there was no way in hell she was alright. _Especially in Kerning. _"As alright as you can be in Kerning." Which wasn't very alright at all, in his opinion. "Anyway, you said you were going to show me something mindblowing?"

"I didn't exactly say _mindblowing_," Matthias said tersely as they walked past a few mansions. Well, compared to the rest of the housing in Kerning, the mushroom-shaped houses _were _mansions. He knew a millionaire heiress called Maya lived in one of the few- he had seen her party flyers all the time. Even if she was supposedly _sick._ _(PARTY AT MAYA'S HOUSE TONIGHT, 10:00! PARTY PARTY PARTY!) _

"Only something mindblowingly amazing can make me not think so much of myself," Kent said with a smirk. But Matthias didn't retort back because as they rounded the corner, he stopped. This was the place he wanted the hermit to see, to understand, to _sympathize _with.

"Welcome to my _home_," Matthias said bitterly.

In your world, Kent Walker, there is blood and death and misery. The seven sins become a normality. People say the… _malevolence _of Kerning is greatly exaggerated but the people who say those kind of things… they do not live in the hell that is Kerning City.

But people still live in Kerning, because they have _nowhere else to go_. So they try to simply survive. Not live, but survive. _(Because there is nothing left to live for.) _

They steal. They lie. They kill. They beg.

So there is no starvation in Kerning City; no one has died of starvation for a very, very long time. Mugging and 'jobs', yes. But not starvation.

Nothing like what you see in the slums of Henesys. When you first heard of the Henesys slums from Lukas, you were flummoxed: How can a slum exist in _Henesys_? You've always thought that Henesys was one of those safe havens, like Lith Harbour _(where your damned parents live)_. No pain, no hunger, no need to plunder.

"Not everyone was born rich, Kent. How old were you when you left Lith to come here? Six?" Lukas shook his head, making you scowl. You were _seven _when you left, and Lukas knew that damn well. "You've never seen the other side of Lith. If you said what you just told me to the Perma Beginners, they'd beat you to death with their frozen tunas."

Kerning is bad, you decide, but at least the people aren't starving. Not like the people of Henesys are. They have sunken cheeks, sunken to the point that their eyes are almost bulging out grotesquely. They are just _sitting_ there, propper up against lush trees like ugly porcelain dolls, glassy-eyed with their swollen stomachs and skeletal frames.

Waiting to die.

"This is kind of messed up, kid," you finally say. It is one of the most messed up things you've seen in a few days, and that's saying something. "But to be honest, I knew about this already." Angel had shown it to you, but you still can't bring yourself to look at the starving people for more than a minute. They could eat escargot, mushrooms. Did none of them know how to hunt, even though they lived in a town of _hunters_. Oh, the irony.

"They should steal if they want to survive," you look sidelong at the boy. If he lives here, how can he look so well-fed and well-dressed? A small smirk appears on your face. So the boy is a thief like the rest of 'em. The unspoken _'just like you' _hung heavily in the air. He's not a rich kid, you discard that thought before it even pops into your head.

The kid looks down at his shiny boots and winces at your words, making your smirk stretch even wider across your smug face. "What gives you the right to say that? You're a thief as we-" His eyes widen as he clamps his mouth shut quickly, pulling you to hide behind a bush. It was just in time as well: you hear the rapid pad of soft-soled boots running fast on the ground, machine gun fast, and the sound of actual bullets being fired from guns.

"You will die, thief."

Your eyes widen: they _kill _thieves here? Execution while running through the streets isn't a common occurrence in Kerning- the police don't have the _balls _to even try and go after a thief. Street urchins, sure, but not an actual rogue. The Dark Lord, as the thieves call him, protects you all. As long as you have his blessing _(by paying a hefty tithe) _you will never be captured. Your hand goes to your left shoulder as a reflex, touching the dark tattoo underneath. The Dark Lord's blessing isn't something to be taken lightly. Your eyes shut as you hear a loud _crack _of a bullet entering fresh and encountering bone, and the soft _thump _of a body hitting the grassy ground.

"I hate to say this, kid," you say quietly, "but this really isn't a place for a thief. Like _us_. You got family here?"

The archer kid shakes his head, but you remember one comment he made in the hunting ground: _("You're everything my parents wanted.") _but you make no comment as you fumble with a Kerning town scroll for the kid and start punching in co-ordinates for yourself on your CC phone. It was none of your business anyway, his familial status. So quietly, you whisk both of you away from the scene, but not before lifting your head slightly above the bush to peek at who was the killer of the thief. It's alright when a thief kills another, but when outsiders do it… It becomes slightly more personal. Your eyes widen slightly because _what are the odds_? It's the plain clothed GM from the hunting grounds. You grit your teeth. What. Are. The. Fucking. _Odds. _Daniel Brooks liked to tan himself and kill thieves, did he?

"Where are we?"

"Kerning City," you say, your eyes narrowing as you remember that GM's face. A hawkish face, with wide set black eyes. Light brown hair. So, you frown, that is what Daniel Brooks looks like. You glance at your CC phone and tap impatiently onto the screen until your contacts show up. Lukas, Joe and Corey are marked as alive, of course. And incidentally, so is Daniel Brooks.

"Not for long," you smirk to yourself, laughing at the startled look on the kid's face. Yes, he was probably a little bit crazy but hey, who was judging?

Expertly, you steer him out of the alley you have landed them in, keeping a sharp eye out for unwelcome visitors. There is a market for young, innocent-looking archers like him in KC: dead and in a trash can. "Anyway kid, what's your name?"

"Matthias Henderson," the kid tells you, but you shake your head, looking at the boy expectantly.

"You can't keep your real name here in the city, kid," you explain a little impatiently. No time for naïveness here: only time for rapid fire explanations and then dumping him with Corey. The man would now what to do with this boy. The archer just looks confusedly at you, and you groan inside. You were so _sure _he isn't stupid! But whatever, you don't have time for this. You need to tell Lukas about Daniel Brooks killing the thief.

"Look," you start to say in a resigned voice, "how about Matt? And since you want to be a hunter, just tag that on the end of your name, yeah?"

The kid nods slowly and tests the name aloud. "Matt Hunter," he starts to say, sounding vaguely doubtful. But heck, you don't have time for name issues! You shut his mouth with a frustrated glare because _damn, _this whole situation has taken a definite annoying turn. You can't even be sure that Lukas won't kill you for kidnapping _another _person from Henesys _(the first was Angel) _so you drag him forcibly up stairs and through doors and thrust him into the folded arms of Korey. You start panicking ever so slightly, and you feel a drop of nervous sweat trickle down the side of your face.

"What the fuck, man?" he asks with finesse and utter politeness. You shoot him a dirty look.

"We need all the help we can get, Korey. A thief that isn't really a thief is gonna help… and don't worry about him not wanting to be here," you assure him, "just ask him what they do to thieves in Henesys. Fuckin' barbaric, that's for sure."

Korey doesn't look placated in the slightest, but you don't actually give a shit. You key in co-ordinates for Lukas' office and land right into the hard chair opposite him. He looks at you in the calmest way possible with his light blue eyes, and that is when you start to feel a little bit afraid.

"…Hi," you say lamely, your eyes firmly on his uncluttered glass desk, as if the answer to all life's questions is etched into its fragile surface.

"Hello," Lukas says, as polite as ever, but there is a steely undertone to his voice. Okay, you are definitely afraid now, but not at the shit-your-pants stage. "Would you like to explain why you've just dragged an innocent Henesys boy into this mess we call our war?"

Ah, now you're at the shit-your-pants stage.

"He's not all that innocent," you mumble, and that's when you hear the _crack_ of your head colliding into the wall of the office. It hurts, hurts like motherfucking bloody hell in all its glory. But you've had worse, so you crack an eye open. Lukas is looking at you so serenely, looking as if he hasn't even moved to hit you. Something is oozing onto your clothes and you _know _it's your head. Fuck, you're bleeding… _onto Lukas' wall. _You're not sure which is worse.

"Get out of my office," Lukas says, still in that calm, quiet voice. It could have been worse, you think thankfully. You pick yourself up and exit quickly, not wanting to make him even more pissed off at you than he already is. You take one, two, three, four steps before you start feeling like the room's spinning around you. Quickly, you type a certain number into your CC phone and you're deposited into a familiar alley that leads to your apartment. Five steps until you need to start clinging to the dirty brick wall like a drunken man. You struggle on because _shit, _your apartment's so damn close. Six, seven, _eight _steps when you don't have the strength to cling anymore and just fall forwards, your eyes shutting quickly. You are unconscious before you slam into the concrete ground.

* * *

VII. the thief killer is going to die some day. just like the rest of us.  
_  
GM Book:_

**Daniel Brooks **Henesys was alright, except from some bloody rogue who thought he could run off with my stuff.  
1 hour ago _Comment Like Share_

**Kade Allen **damn what did you do to him?

**Daniel Brooks **Shot him, of course. Thieves need to be taught a lesson.

**Kade Allen **damn… that's a bit cold, dan. u herd wat they said bout the DL's blessing?

**Daniel Brooks **Dark Lord? No one cares about that old reprobate. Back to work.


	3. this might be history one day

It'd be nice if everything works out in the end, but this isn't how history works. This is the _victor's _tale- the only story left to tell.

Only this is _non-fiction_, bitches.

* * *

"The tea is very calming, yes?"

Kent shrugged as he raised the delicate and tiny cup to his lips with one bandaged arm. Some of the bandages were starting to get unraveled by his incessant tugging. Bandages... They just didn't feel good, y'know? "Sure, I guess," he offered halfheartedly. "Are you alright?" he asked, because he felt obligated to, "because you're sitting around with a criminal who has one of the largest bounties on his head drinking tea."

"I don't care," the priest told him calmly, sipping his own tea. His amber eyes (that looked a bit like a jackal's, proud and domineering) closed in delight a he savoured the rare liquid. Tea was a very hard to come by, and a delicacy in Kerning. Kent didn't know why the hell the priest had offered him some instead of hoarding it like some tea-obsessed fuck. He wanted to ask what a priest like him was doing in Kerning City anyway, but he didn't bother. Any outsiders coming into the city meant at least one of three points:

1. They had fucked up royally back in their home town.  
2. Escaped convict.  
3. They had nowhere else to go… and just wanted to die soon.

The hermit kept quiet and drank his tea.

"That isn't really smart, is it...? My attacker might come after you for healing me. He wants me dead, I'm sure of it."

The priest shrugged, but Kent noticed him eyeing his Kage out of the corner of his creepy animal-like eyes. "They're certainly welcome to try." Then the priest's eyes shut again as his hands curved around his cup, his lips curving up. "I haven't lost a fight yet in Kerning City."

Kent raised an eyebrow, challenging the man. "Really? Don't get too cocky, there are quite a few people out there who can beat the crap out of you." The priest arched his own brow, his eyes mocking. _Oh re__ally, _they asked condescendingly.

Kent decided he liked the guy.

"How long have you been in KC anyway? Haven't seen stuck-up priests hanging around for the past few years," he grinned.

"So polite," the priest admonished, but his smile told Kent he wasn't really offended, "but I've only been here for three weeks."

Three weeks, Kent mused. No wonder he hadn't lost a fight yet, he smirked. "I bet you've seen more shit happen in these three weeks than you've seen in the rest of your life so far."

The priest inclined his head, and his eyes were thoughtful. He had seen a lot of things that he hoped he would never see again. You didn't become indifferent to small children desperately fighting for their survival overnight. "Yes, but I'm not disregarding the _unpleasantness _that happens in Ellinia either. In fact," he confessed, "Ellinia is a disgusting place. Kerning is just even more so," he flashed a toothy grin.

"Yeah, but Kerning was way better before, with WizetKorp," Kent agreed. He didn't like governments or authorities in general, but compared to the NXC era they were now in, the WizetKorp era was _god_. "You could tell they didn't really give a damn about any of us and didn't do much, but that's better than NXC who can't keep their nose out of anything. Kerning's paranoid when that happens, and everyone freaks out. Then stabbings go up, up, up." The hermit raised his hand a few inches off the table with every 'up' to emphasise his point. He winced and quickly put his hand back down.

The priest nodded again as he reached over and grabbed Kent's wrist, making a soft noise of what the hermit thought was of agreement. Two long fingers landed on the hollows of his wrist and felt for his pulse. They settled like that for a minute or two, the priest just feeling the constant _pump pump pump _of his pulse and the hermit just sitting there. It was there in the small, rather dingy apartment with the sterile white walls _(practically a mansion by Kerning standards))_, when Kent realised he felt at ease. The tight knot in his stomach was gone _(…could have been a tumour, for all he cared) _and he was relaxed, his body the least tense it had been for weeks. Someone could break down the door and threaten them with a huge dagger, and Kent would just sit there in the chair chilling and tell the guy to fuck off because this place was _peaceful_, damn it, and he wanted to _rest_. And drink priceless tea.

"Hmm, whoever gave you the concussion really did a number on you. Your arm is broken in six places," the priest said, but no expression showed on his face. Excellent bedside manner, Kent couldn't help thinking. He was very valuable: healers were just so rare in Kerning, what with the constant urban decay and all. Good clerics tended to shun the place like the plague. Lukas would be more than pleased if he brought the priest back. _(But the man just saved his life.) _But… there were other things to consider.

"What's your name?"

The priest looked at him for a long moment _(admirably, you can barely see the distrust flickering in his eyes) _before answering. "Call me Isaac Falconer," the priest said finally, his body tensing and a little wary. "It's not my real name, if that's alright with you."

Kent shrugged, not bothering to tell him that the fake name was the norm here. Your real identity was the thing you held closer to you than money, something that _you _owned even if you were a beggar, a murderer or a whore. In a way, it was precious. If you had kids of your own, you didn't want rival gang members to kill them because of something as stupid as a similar last name. And to throw people off even further, 'Walker' was a pretty common last name in Kerning. He didn't return the courtesy- the priest would probably find out his name sooner or later if he stayed in Kerning.

"Listen Falconer," Kent said quietly, his eyes scanning the room. Would anyone have had time to bug it? Of course they would have, this was _fucking Kerning _after all. Spycams, audio bugs… hell, even if he whispered someone could lip-read him. Frowning, he reached over and grabbed the priest by the collar of his robes _(man dress, he sniggered) _with his good arm and leaned across the table, managing to almost tip over the tea cups in the process. The tea was cold anyway. He spoke quickly and quietly into the man's ear, shielding his lips with his hand and his head. For all intents and purposes, he looked as if he was nibbling at the man's ear. But that couldn't be helped.

"There's a war about to break out soon in Kerning, between NXC and us thieves. We don't like people killing one of our own, especially when the guy actually has the Dark Lord's blessing," Kent hissed as he remembered the corpse in Henesys hitting the ground. The kid was young: maybe only a few weeks or months into roguehood. But he had probably been a thief since before he could walk. "Thieves manage thieves, damn it, and that's the way it's always been. We manage our own, and we don't want NXC poking their oversized noses into our shit. And that is _exactly _what they're doing. _Don't say anything aloud, _your apartment's probably bugged."

Falconer nodded thoughtfully, looking for all the world as if Kent was just discussing the rising prices of steelies with him. The man shot him a look that said '_why are you telling me this?'_. Kent smiled bitterly.

"I'm telling you to run, mate. You're not one of us, not really. You might get…" Kent paused, trying to choose the right term, "caught in the crossfire. No one's going to bother to save a priest, however skilled you are, when their own thief buddies are in danger. This really isn't the best time to migrate to Kerning."

Soothing mana enveloped his arm as he sat down, but Kent grimaced. He could actually _feel _the broken parts of bone realigning themselves in his arm. It wasn't painful because Falconer's healing had an anesthetic effect, but it still felt uncomfortably unnatural anyway. The priest was muttering to himself under his breath a long string of words that Kent could barely understand. Medical terminology maybe? Well, he didn't want to know the gory details. Falconer leant over the table like he did and angled his head to whisper into his ear.

"I'll start packing. I don't want to get caught in a war between you and NXC."

Kent raised an eyebrow as Falconer sat down and reached for his now cold teacup. "You're not very noble for a priest, are you? Would've thought you'd be the type to volunteer."

Falconer shrugged as a tilted the cup back, his calm amber eyes never leaving Kent's face. "It's all a question of survival," he said pleasantly, "and to be brutally honest, I never thought thieves were particularly noble anyway." He looked expectantly at Kent and said hermit smirked.

"What about honour among thieves then," Kent teased, a smile tugging at his lips as soon as he said that phrase. That had to be one of the dumbest things he had ever heard… The only time thieves would unite was when outsiders attacked. Because being a thief meant being distrusted, hated, being a third-class citizen. No one was going to stick up for you or _protect _you, you had to protect yourself. It didn't matter how old you were: five, fifteen or fifty _(if you lived that long), _no one would defend a thief. No one felt that kind of hatred for archers, mages, permanoobs or even the pirates _(dear god, he __**hated **__the pirates)_, only thieves. So, thieves would protect their own against outsiders, but thieves would also decimate their own when it was needed. That was the way it had been for centuries.

Falconer smirked and rolled his eyes. "I'm new here, but I'm not _stupid_. I'm not a thief, but thanks for the advice anyway." He nodded at Kent's arm, now enveloped in a haze of green healing mana. "I'll consider it adequate payment for the healing."

Kent grinned cheekily at him, knowing that while he didn't have many morals to call his own, the priest certainly did. And he'd feel obligated to consider a warning for healing a fair trade, even though the info was kind of worthless because word was bound to get around anyway. Sure, he was cheating the person who had saved his life but hey, he was a thief. He did those kind of things on _reflex_.

Plus really… Kent didn't want a guy like him hanging around, getting dragged into a war that wasn't his. Advance warnings were good. But a little thought nagged at him: he had dragged the archer kid into a war. Kent just rolled his eyes in distaste. The kid _stole _stuff for his own survival. He was a thief, damn it. If the hermit had just left him there then the kid would be executed. Maybe not for days or weeks or months, but one day he'd end up dead- that was for certain. He looked down at his arm and grimaced at the sight of it. It didn't look as terribly mangled as before and Falconer had cleaned the blood off, but it still look a bit bent out of shape. He was just lucky it wasn't his throwing arm. Falconer grabbed it again and healed it once more, looking down at the injury.

"Who did this to you anyway?"

Kent paused because he'd be damned if he was going to tell the truth. That was worth than a death sentence, because no one badmouthed or squealed on Lukas. Joe, that crazy, obsessed idiot who was probably in love with Lukas… what had he called their guildmaster again? Oh yeah, Joe called him God. Kent frowned. Somehow, that description didn't seem to be too off the mark. Kent looked down at his arm and was pleased to see it looking as normal as ever and in full working order, and he twisted it around just to see if it was still flexible. It was a little sore, but seemed normal. He stood up, nodding his thanks.

"If I ever see you again Falconer, it'll be too soon. And as for who…" Kent shook his head. "I just really really hope that for your sake, you'll never meet him. You wouldn't want to meet him. Toodles, and good luck."

Anxiously, the priest stood up and caught his arm, making Kent wince because _damn, _it was still sore. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to kill some unwanted outsiders," Kent smirked as the priest's _(creepy, creepy) _eyes widened just a little. "Wanna come with?" He hadn't really been expecting an answer other than spluttering and/or threatening to go to the police, but Falconer surprised him.

"Eh, what the heck," the priest shrugged, grabbing his Kage and caressing the skull. "I'm going to be leaving soon anyway. I don't mind having black marks on my Kerning record."

As they left, Kent double checked the locks of the door even though it wasn't his. He didn't want some stupid kids messing up the apartment of the priest who had saved his life.

* * *

**Filename: **kwalkerinterview**dot**mv  
**Tags: **kent walker interview

_PLAY_

Footage starts to play, a little too grainy because of the countless times to file has been compressed and decompressed and because the cameras were shit back then. But if you look closely, you can just about make out that there are two people sitting opposite each other, one looking at peace with the world and the other shifting uncomfortably in his hard seat. You can immediately tell that the calm one has to be Lukas, leader of the notorious thief guild Daggerpoint, and so the uneasy one has to be none other than Kent Walker.

"This is just another gang, Walker_,_" you hear Lukas say, and his tone is friendly and polite. "We are not some product trying to get people to buy- we don't have a unique selling proposition. We'll sell drugs, run protection rackets, try to control the mesos flow of the City… we're merely going to do it better and actually _succeed _where others haven't."

"I've told you," Kent says testily, "that I'm not interested. At all. I'm fine being a freelancer."

You feel a bit surprised at how young Kent sounds and you look closer at the footage. Your eyes widen slightly. The Kent Walker in the video looks impossibly young for a celebrated killer. He's a teenager, only about thirteen or fourteen years old, and he looks nothing like the jaded, unscrupulous young man you've come to know (and maybe hate). He looks _scared_. You know this is because Lukas sent his men to grab Kent and had actually succeeded, and that has intimidated the boy a lot. You feel a sliver of vicious pride surge up inside you because _hey_- the mighty Kent Walker isn't so infallible after all.

"I am not asking you whether you are interested or not," Lukas says in that rather mild manner of his, but you don't miss the way his eyes flicker, a little annoyed. He isn't used to children defying him, or anyone else for that matter. "I am _telling _you that you are going to join our guild."

A chair scrapes back as Kent stands up, his face flushed with anger- he _hates _being told what to do, by adults especially. "I'm _not interested_ in joining your shitty little guild," he says in a low voice, "and I won't join it. I don't like to be tied down to a ship that's about to sink, especially with a _crazy captain._"

There is a sharp cracking sound and Kent suddenly grabs his right wrist and cradles it, agony written all over his youthful face. Lukas has just broken his throwing hand, you realise. And the man is _smiling _as if nothing has happened at all. His face doesn't even betray a hint of irritation of anger. Heck, he and Kent could be politely discussing gardening for all his calm.

"You're lucky I don't kill children as valuable as you," Lukas says, and you feel a slight chill despite yourself. When you first heard of Lukas, you scoffed, thinking that you could take him any day. But he's _dangerous _and powerful and he won't stop _smiling_. "I hope you've come to your senses. I am your guild master. You may call be Lukas."

Kent's eyes narrow and you feel scared for him when he opens his mouth. "Never, you sick pedophile bastard. You're not the boss of me," he snaps defiantly. He's gotten too cocky, you think, but he's so smart. Surely he realizes that there is no defying Lukas…? You notice a sign of defeat in his eyes, and your lips thin into a line. He does realise it, and that makes it all the more worse, because he's still _trying_.

Lukas stands, his face so utterly calm at that moment that you can't help but fear for Kent. You don't love the stupid bastard kid but as Lukas' serene mask slips off his face, you choke and scream at the young Kent in the footage to _run _even though there is no use, because all you're doing is yelling at a _screen_. There is no longer a smile on Lukas' face, just a thin line for a mouth and cold, angry eyes. Irritably, he looks straight at the camera, at _you_, and you back away in your chair- he can't possibly _know _you're watching, right? Right? Suddenly, the screen turns black, and you realise Lukas must have destroyed the camera.

… But why did he?

But your audio is fine, and perfectly clear. You wish it wasn't, because you can hear dozens of _cracks _and muffled screams and the sound of a child crying. But Kent doesn't beg or plead for it to stop, and you wish he would because you want to tear your own ears off to stop hearing! But morbidly, morbidly, you can't bring yourself to turn off the laptop and end the torture.

"_I am your guild master, Kent Walker. You will not disrespect or disobey me again. __**Say it.**__"_

To his credit, Kent doesn't make a sound and you scream at him_ (even though he can't hear you)_: what the hell is he doing? He's a _thief, _not some warrior! He's smart enough to know that he has to submit to Lukas' will- everyone does. But the thief keeps his mouth firmly shut.

You hear several more cracks and a not so muffled scream and your hands curl up into tight fists, leaving crescent-shaped marks in your palms. You tell yourself that you are _not _sorry for Kent Walker because he's stupid for defying Lukas but with every bloody crack you hear, your fingernails dig deeper into the flesh of your calloused palm until you draw blood. You don't even notice the blood trickling onto the laptop because your eyes are screwed shut.

You hear Kent's defeated voice, because he's a thief after all, not a noble warrior.

"_Mr. Lukas… you are my guild master. I will never…_" you hear an audible swallow, and you wish the sound quality was not quite so good, _"I will never disrespect you again._"

There is a tension-filled pause.

"_Good," _you hear Lukas say, _"now get up." _There is a scraping of boot against concrete and a ragged cough. _"Get out of my office."_

You slam the top of the laptop shut and cut off the audio feed, then you rush to the trash can beside the desk and you empty your breakfast. A fire poison mage looks at you, entirely unaffected and unemotional at your display. He looks a bit disgusted when he glances at his trash can, though.

"You're clearing that up, Matt Hunter," he tells you. "You were the one that asked about Walker. What you see is what you get."

You gape at him and voice your thoughts aloud: "How can you stay so calm after… _that_?"

The fire poison mage smiles bitterly and lifts the silk sleeve of his black robe up his arm, and your eyes widen slightly. There are dozens of long scars amongst little tiny ones, pale pink stripes on deathly pale flesh. Why has he kept them? Judging by the look of distaste on the mage's face, you realise that they don't stay there by _choice_. …They can't be healed by a priest. He pulls up his other sleeve, and it's the same story as well.

"Guess what happens when you say no to Lukas," Joe says flatly.

* * *

_NXC GM Criminal Records Database_

SEARCH ITEM: Lukas kerning city  
0 records found.

Search again?  
YES.

SEARCH ITEM: Lukas daggerpoint  
0 records found.

Search again?  
YES.

SEARCH ITEM: Lukas  
0 records found.

Search again?  
YES.

SEARCH ITEM: Kent Walker  
134 records found.

Search again?  
YES.

SEARCH ITEM: Kent Walker daggerpoint  
1 record found.

_Click._

Loading: database file.  
Clearance L-3 required. Key in ID code.  
_********_  
_ID verified._

**Name: **Kent Walker  
**Age: **21  
**Class: **Thief, hermit.  
**Guild: **Daggerpoint  
**Location: **Kerning City  
**Job: **Organized crime

**PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION:  
Eye colour: **NA  
**Hair colour: **Blonde-brown, dyed dark blue or black.  
**Skin colour: **White

**GENERAL DESCRIPTION:  
**Walker is a highly dangerous criminal whose base of operations are in KC. He works under the Kerning kingpin Lukas as a Junior Leader in the guild Daggerpoint, also a criminal gang. Sources in Kerning City (non-thief, for reasons refer to Honour among Thieves and Dark Lord's blessing files) reveal that he was once a renowned mercenary from a very young age. His parents are unknown (Refer to Kerning City Naming file) and he has no known close allies.

_Clearance L-4 required for further information. Key in ID code.  
__********_  
_ID verified._

Kent Walker is one of the prime targets for KPO to take down (Refer to KPO Targets file) because of the threat he poses to the welfare of Kerning City. He is extremely skilled in killing and abduction, thus our agents will have to be protected against him when we instate a Nexon Corp guard unit in the city. There are no rumours of him being a hacker but further investigations will be carried out.

Not much information is known about this individual because he is highly elusive. Despite knowledge about his criminal activities, he has never been arrested.  
_**Related records: **_Joe (Daggerpoint) and Korey Hartman

His heart was beating too fast and loud as he clicked on his own name and entered the hacked ID codes for clearance, his eyes tightening as he saw what was listed under his own info. _"Joe of the guild Daggerpoint is one of the prime targets for __KPO__ to take down (Refer to __KPO Targets__ file) because of the threat he poses to the welfare of Kerning City."_

"…Shit," Joe just let his head fall down onto his beloved laptop, "this is fuckin' _great_. I've always wanted to be on the guv's hit list."

His lips thinned as he realised just what that meant as well. It meant that there wasn't a chance in hell that he was getting out of Kerning City alive. But if he was going down, he was going to make sure that NXC went down with him, because _fuck _if he was going to get executed.

He was the junior leader of Daggerpoint, damn it, and he couldn't be weak, Joe snapped at himself. He was strong. He _had _to be (or he would die). But he _knew _already that he would be stuck in KC for the rest of his life the moment Lukas began to _cut _him, so the information…that was just the signature on the death warrant. He bit his lip and looked away from the screen.

"It's a bit sad though," Joe said softly, "I always imagined myself a bit different. Not a thief, y'know? But here I am, lumped in with the best of 'em to be executed."

He heard a sigh as a figure behind him uncrossed his legs and walked over to him silently. Just as silently, he picked Joe up and carried him over to the plush sofa, his strong arms around the teen. "Come on Joe, wipe your tears," Korey urged, an unhappy look on his lightly scarred face. He felt sorry for Joe, but being sorry didn't help the reality that the GMs would be hunting him down. "Smile. You still have us."

"It's just hay fever. I'm not crying. I'm not that weak," Joe said in a low voice and Korey assured them that he wasn't, even though he was sure hay didn't exist in Kerning. The boy wasn't weak- the scars were proof enough of that. But emotionally, Joe was a bloody mess. He wasn't suited to life in the city, he was happier amongst the damned plants and crap in Ellinia. The fairies actually liked him and as he had told Korey, he was so happy there. Korey frowned.

_Didn't stop Lukas from kidnapping him though. His crime? Being too much of a genius… Too talented to resist. _

"I miss home."

_Home is where the heart is._

**The camera clicked and whirred. A few years later, the file was found. In a few quick clicks, it was not just deleted, but the data was corrupted and then destroyed. It had been retrieved anyway.**

"You look a bit like an angel," Korey said suddenly, "what with your fluffy blonde hair and all."

Joe smiled at the description, but it was a bitter smile. Half-heartedly, he lifted the sleeves of his robes so the pink lines of the scars could be visible in the fluorescent light then touched his left shoulder, marked with the Dark Lord's approval of him. His sky-blue eyes hardened.

"Don't lie, Korey. There are no angels in this world."

* * *

Daniel Brooks strolled through Kerning, feeling dozens of tiny eyes watching him as he walked through the alleys. He was testing them and if they were smart, they would know that. The stupider ones wouldn't though, and would try to snatch his mesos, but they weren't the one he was trying to catch. But he didn't mind if either a stupid thief or a smart thief came after him and his wallet because a thief was still a thief. And he _hated _all thieves. There was no "childhood issue" involved- a thief didn't steal his lollipop or whatever, he just _hated them _like the filthy vermin they were.

Someone shoved past him rudely but reflexively, Brooks caught the dark collar of the rude thief's… robe? Thieves didn't wear robes, but an angry mage seemed to.

"Hey, what's your damn problem?" he spat, light blue eyes flaring angrily. Temper temper. Brooks' first impression of the mage was that he was very… short. He was barely pushing five inches, and Brooks himself was about 6"7. His eyes widened when Brooks towered over him, and the Alpha GM felt a little… bad. The boy was small and cute, all innocent wide blue eyes and frail-looking. He felt a little ashamed. For god's sake, he was a GodMaster, not a _thug_. "Um… sorry _pleasedon'thurtme,_" and for Zakum's sake did the boy just whimper? Brooks wasn't that intimidating, was he? Then he checked himself. _Yes he was. _He tried to smile at the kid but he just backed away with a deer in the hindlights look. Damn it, what was it with kids that he couldn't bring himself to yell at them? It was like smacking Bambi.

But Brooks didn't forget the little comment the mage had made: _"Hey, what's your damn problem?" _especially when _he _was the who had shoved rudely past him. A smile touched his lips- so the mage was a little spitfire after all. That was pretty funny if you thought about it.

"So aggressive," Brooks said silkily, and suddenly the mage froze. His blue eyes were wider than dinner plates as he hugged himself tightly with his arms and sank against the wall. "Oh god, hey… you alright?" But Joe couldn't hear him.

"You're so aggressive, Jo-_seph_," a velvety voice told him and normally if he had heard a voice like that Joe would have crushed and crushed _hard_ but this man was going to _kill_ him. And his arm was _burning_ and not the good burn like his own fire but the _bad_ burn where he was going to die. Oh god oh god he was going to _die_."Maybe we should send you to anger management classes, hmm? All you have to do is to say what I want you to say, _Joseph _and everything will be fine."

A few moments later, Joe cracked.

"You are my guildmaster and I will never disrespect or disobey you again," Joe gabbled, "you are my guildmaster and I will never disrespect or disobey you again. You are my guildmaster and I will never disrespect or disobey you again…!"

A cruel smirk. "Now, that's so much better isn't it, _Joseph_?"

…

Joe's interest was piqued as he heard low voices speaking outside his door and he became alert, straining to hear what was being said.

"There's a reason why Joe never looks at Lukas," he heard Korey say quietly, "he flips the fuck out. Don't mention the man around him, alright?"

"Pfft, I don't wanna work with some pansy." Kent Walker's voice was as clear as a sunny day without clouds annoyingly blocking the sun. Korey spoke again rapidly but Joe couldn't really catch any of it because his voice was lower than before. So was Kent Walker's when he spoke. "Oh, damn… He's just a kid isn't he? Shit. That's kind of messed up. Fine, I'll go easy on him. At raids though, he's always there when Lukas is there. Shit, orders? Well, alright then. I'll make nice… We've both been through it but I'd rather we have something else in common, yeah? Mm, fine."

"Kid, are you alright…? You don't look so well."

"_Please go away._"

Brooks' lips tightened as he picked the kid up bodily- he was so light!- and carried him to Niora hospital, because he wasn't going to terrify a child _(more like a teenager, really)_ and leave him alone in some dark alley.

… Great, now he sounded like a pedophile in his head.

"Lemmego!" the boy snapped at him but Brooks just rolled his eyes. The fists pounding at him were surprisingly strong, though.

"No," he said simply, and that was _that_. He remembered that his kind of little sister Lysanne had said about him: he was like a _force. _A very scary and cold force that just slammed everything in its way _out _of the way. He knew they looked a spectacle, walking down the Kerning streets like that, but Brooks had never been one for self-consciousness. In fact, he didn't stop walking until he reached Niora Hospital and quite happily dumped the little spitfire there. "Treat him," he told the doctors and short-staffed as they were, they rushed to him. There was something _wrong _about the teen. Had he accidentally broken some bones when they bumped together? Dan didn't know.

But fire flared up the boy's entire body, making the doctors back the fuck away. "Heal the people who are _actually hurt _and please," his eyes turned to Brooks, "just leave me alone okay? I'm fine. That was _nice of you, _but don't do that."

Brooks put his hands up in casual surrender but eyed the boy warily- the flames circling his body _(almost lovingly)_ was a sign that fire and kids were _not _meant to be mixed. "Okay, let's get out of here."

"Look," the mage said warningly, the flames around him growing a little brighter, "there is no _let's, _there is only me and _I _am getting out of here and _**you **_are staying here_. _Got that?"

"Shit, get him outta here! We've got oxygen masks and alcohol, we don't need something flammable around!"

Brooks couldn't help smiling a little as the doctors and nurses rushed around pushing patients strapped to beds away from the kid on fire. The kid had caused enough trouble already, and it was time to go. He was still holding himself tightly, his slender fingers clutching at his sleeves. Brooks couldn't help frowning at the sight, but it wasn't like there was anything he could do. The kid was a mage, but he had that Kerning look on him- tired but alert eyes and a slightly anorexic look.

"You've had your fun, but let's get out of here, alright?" Brooks had cultivated a soft tone _(that actually makes you sound like you understand humans for once, Kade had once said in his obnoxious way)_ and used it sparingly when the situation demanded it. The situation demanded it then, considering how volatile the flaming kid was. He waited patiently until the mage put out his flames and looked in dismay about his scorched robes. "Damn it," Brooks heard him mutter, "I need some fireproof ones."

"You should think about that _before _you set yourself on fire," Brooks quipped, but the fire mage ignored him, instead frantically worried about the state of his robes. Were they scrolled to perfection or something? But they boy seemed more concerned about a certain party of his robes- the sleeves.

Brooks didn't even want to think about that meant. Instead, he picked the boy up again effortlessly, wincing as he felt just how _hot _he was. It was like touching a super hot cup of coffee, but Brooks didn't drop him.

"So, what's your name?"

There was a reluctant silence in the air and Brooks sighed. The touchiness about his name meant the kid probably lived here then, but he didn't exactly have the Kerning urchin look. Sure, he looked a little too thin but not hollow-cheeked like some kids were, and he hadn't made off with Brooks' wallet yet. Brooks didn't want to know why a strong fire mage like him had ended up in a dump like Kerning, and he didn't particularly want to find out. The kid wasn't exactly pleasant company either, what with the glares and the fuming and the _bursting into flames_, but he was cute. Clichédly, Brooks liked his spitfire personality. It was interesting, if a bit brash.

"Joe."

"Alright then, Joe," he said lightly, "how do you feel about an ice cream sundae?"

"I feel like throwing up my breakfast."

"Lovely," the GodMaster smiled. "Anyway, I'm Dan. Let's go… you need a bit of cooling off."

Only when he was sitting in front of a _massive _banana split topped with millions of cherries and tons of chocolate syrup did Joe smile and grudgingly thank the man. It had been a long time since he'd had ice cream. It wasn't that he couldn't afford it, it was just that Lukas didn't really let him go out too much. And it was _heavenly, _that ice cream with the banana and bright rainbow sprinkles. But those were soon forgotten when Dan started talking.

"Ohmigod, you like that band too?"

As Korey would put it in his macabre way, the conversation flowed like blood down the Kerning streets. Like honey down the side of the jar. Like alcohol down Kent's throat.

"So, you have a girlfriend?"

Joe blinked. "Err, no," he said, a tad self-consciously, a blush tinting his cheeks, "I don't. Do you?"

"Nah, I'm gay." Dan said it so off-handedly and unabashedly that Joe had to snap his jaw back up to his face. "But I would've thought _you'd _have a girlfriend." The GM looked sidelong at him, nodding to himself. "You look like an angel. It's your eyes." They were so blue, that was what he meant to say. Like the sky.

Joe smiled at him, a little shy with the new information. "I'm g-gay too." He mentally smacked himself- stuttering was _not_ his thing. Weak people stuttered, and Joe was _not _weak. But Dan didn't seem to mind, just tilting his head to one side and smiling at him.

"That so? That's _interesting _news. So, you have a boyfriend?"

* * *

Korey offered him a faint smile when he went slunk back into what they had dubbed a 'war building'. It had to be the most technologically advanced place in the whole of Victoria Island _(and what had it taken? A few orders from Lukas, a few bank accounts emptied and fifteen clean-up crews working around the clock to transform the crumbling abandoned building into __**that**__. Even wrecks turned beautiful under Lukas' command.) _and while he would usually be all over that, Joe was silently panicking. His heart was beating too fast _(like the flutter of the hummingbird's wings) _and he felt strangely guilty. Joe didn't even try to kid himself- Lukas knew all about it already by now _(because Lukas is __**god**__) _and he was fucked.

"Where's Kent?"

Korey shrugged again, his eyes still stuck to the pile of reports he had gotten someone to print off _(while I was away, Joe thought with a painful twist in his stomach)_. "I haven't seen him since he dumped some kid with me. Some archer trying to be a hunter. His name was Matt Hunter or something."

Joe was _appalled. _"You meant Kent brought a _kid _that hasn't hit puberty _or _second job yet?" Korey shrugged. _Yeah, he did. _Joe's lips thinned as he sank down in the comfy swivel chair next to Korey and starting twirling around on it. He knew it would make him sick after a while, but he didn't care. It was such a great stress reliever. "That's pretty irresponsible." But who he was he to criticize? He had just come back from some bizarre ice-cream date with some _(super hot and cultured guy who's actually interesting) _… random guy. To his eternal mortification, he blushed and quickly swivelled to hide his tomato-red face.

"I thought I'd brief you on the Alpha unit, since we need to be taking them down first. That's first strike. They're mostly the only part that matters, so you don't need to worry your blonde little head 'bout the rest."

A file was slid silently across the table and Joe frowned. It was starting to get awkward, this whole silence thing. Joe wanted to ask if there was a problem but he was shut up when Korey suddenly stood up and placed a heavy hand on his shoulder.

"Joe. I… My team and I," Korey amended, "we collect the information in the city. We've got cameras literally _everywhere_- a kind of surveillance that NXC can only _dream _of having access to. And one of my team found something interesting today and," he continued uncomfortably, "you might want to be a little more _discrete_. I've destroyed some footage for you, but I can't keep doing it forever, okay?"

Joe shut his gaping mouth with a sharp click as he lowered his eyes to the table. He knew, damn it. Korey _knew. _But what had he been expecting? No matter how he thought that Lukas was omniscient, he had to get his information from somewhere. Or more particularly, some_one_. "You're a big kid now, and you've got big decisions to make. You going through with it?"

Joe shrugged. His friendship with the man was just that- friendship. "We're just friends," he said, sounding a little too forceful. Korey looked sidelong at him, a doubtful look on his face.

"Friends don't kiss each other, Joe. You like him."

"What… What the f-fuck?" Joe yelped at those words and to his horror, a fierce blush spread across his cheeks. Shit, no! He wasn't going to blush. "N-no I don't! I like girls and boobs and and and-"

"Shut up," Korey said, but not unkindly. He spun Joe around to him and squatted to the boy's height, his hands still holding the mage's shoulders to look at him. "Listen up, kid. I'm only going to say this once: I don't care which way gender you prefer, but it's always nice to have a bit of love flying around when you're still a teen." Korey bit his lip. He had been classified as a teenager for all of one week before... He stopped his thoughts in his tracks. "Just… be happy, alright? I'll keep everything from Lukas for as long as I possibly can." He winked. "And use protection."

Joe was too busy biting his lip _(there was no freaking way he was going to cry, he wasn't that weak and pitiful) _when Korey hugged him tightly and very briefly, before walking out of the room. Korey wasn't a very… huggy person, Joe decided with a smile, and he whispered a very soft _thank you _that made Korey feel a little bit better _(because he was dreading what would happen when Lukas found out, to him and Joe both)_.

He shut the door behind him quietly, not wanting to see Joe's face when he started to read the report. To sound horribly clichéd, Joe was like his little brother that maybe he had always kinda wanted. He had just had some bad luck. Korey's eyes tightened as he thought back to the report he had read and _yes, _he had dropped his coffee when he realised what it actually meant. The kid has some _very _bad luck going on there.

"So, _Ko-rey. _What are you keeping from me?"

Shit shit shit shit motherfuckin' _shit_ because Lukas was leaning casually against the wall _(looking so damned cool as he did it) _and wearing a friendly smile on his handsome face. He was going to _die_, he knew it and he never thought he'd be scared of his death but he _was, _because Lukas was the one orchestrating it! And holy _god _Lukas wasn't going to make it the slightest bit painless for him.

"You look so afraid, _Ko-rey_," Lukas just kept right on smiling, but now the smile had taken a decidedly _sadistic _twist. "Why don't we go up to my office and have a nice chat…?"

* * *

"I'll tell you now, Korey, that I have other… _spies_. Just in case one takes a brief trip down the road I like to call _betraying their guildmaster to whom you have sworn your loyalty to._"

Silence.

"Not speaking, hmm?"

"But tell me, _dear friend_, are you happy seeing Joseph happily-in-_**infatuation**_ with the leader of the Alpha unit that is hell-bent on our executions?"

…

A sigh of impatience, a signal that Lukas had grown tired of coaxing him. His voice acquired that steely edge that _compelled _people to obey him, something leaders like him _(who ruled by occasional manipulation and mostly sheer brutality) _were born with.

"Give me the files, Korey. I know you haven't destroyed them."

Wordlessly, the chief bandit stuck a hand into his pocket and pulled out a thumb drive. He didn't bother cursing himself for not _truly _destroying the files but there wasn't time to berate himself over this. He heard a few clicks of a mouse.

"That wasn't so bad, was it," Lukas said in his light, silky voice, one that promised Korey a very painful death. And for what, he asked himself bitterly. So, so bitterly. "But you disobeyed me, Korey. I told you not to hide things from me, which you have done. And I can't _tolerate _that as I tolerate Kent's obsession with Henesysians and Joseph's obsession with having relationships with GodMasters."

"We''re at odds, Korey. What would you prefer: death, or a punishment that might make death look like the better option? Don't worry, it's just for three days."

In the end, Korey chose the punishment and went with it. The fact that he had a _choice _in the matter made everything all the more hellish because he _could have chosen death_. Lukas smiled at him again, and that was when Korey knew he had picked the wrong option.

"Korey, I've asked this only once, but I'll ask you again," Lukas said. "Who do you _serve, _above the Nexon Corporation, GodMasters and _friendship_?"

_One heartbeat, two heartbeats, three._

"The Administrator."

A poisonous smile.

"And who is the Administrator, Ko-_rey_?"

_Four heartbeats, five heartbeats, six._

"You are."

* * *

_Thieves don't forgive quickly._

* * *

_Nexon Corporation Database_

**Name of marking: **Dark Lord's Blessing (abbrev. DLB)  
**Use: **Allegedly allows bearer to escape the authorities when caught, or evade the authorities' attention. How this is achieved is not known.  
**Performed by: **Dark Lord of Kerning City  
**Found on: **All people of the thief class, and thieves from other classes that reside in Kerning City  
**Ranking: **HIGHLY DANGEROUS  
**  
PHYSICAL INFORMATION:  
**No such intelligence available: the marking fades rapidly when thieves are caught (without hope of escape). However, it is believed to be found on the left shoulder.

**

* * *

You have an instant message from: Kade**

Kade: shit shit shit dan u gotta come back 2 hq NOW  
Brooks: Why?  
Kade: fuckshit 2 of team's DEAD DAMN IT only u me lizzy left  
Kade: n we don't have any info cuz of DLB  
**Brooks has logged off.**

"Fucking hell."

* * *

Somewhere in Kerning City, a monstrosity of steel and electrochromic glass stands. It has been recently restored by quite a large number of groups loyal to only one man. They love Him _(they speak and write of him with reverence because he is their __**God**__. But said God merely laughs and raises an eyebrow, because he himself thinks addressing him as such is defiling the name of God.) _to the point of obsession, and they makes them ideal for such secret tasks. None of them will ever reveal anything to another breathing being. They would rather _die._

But one such person occupying the building has no such love. _He _fears the man _(to the point of not even bearing to look into his eyes) _and would not have others speak about Him.

Unsmiling, he sets fire to a set of papers. A tear does not run 'chillingly' down his cheek. There isn't a shiver racing up and down his spine. He does not hold himself and sink down to the ground with a 'desperate' wail. He is quite simply calm and uncaring, his eyes simply a pretty light blue colour, not some 'turquoise window into his soul'.

In this way, he is much like his master.

The camera clicks, whirrs, and moves to an empty part of the large room.

YOU HAVE RECEIVED A TEXT MESSAGE FROM: **DAN**  
READ: **YES**/NO

Joe, we should have another ice-cream date. Today was pretty fun.  
FROM: DAN  
10:03:22 PM

REPLY? **YES**/NO  
TEXT MESSAGE:  
fuck off I h8 u  
SEND: **YES**/NO

YOU HAVE RECEIVED A TEXT MESSAGE FROM: **DAN**  
READ: **YES**/NO

What the hell, Joe? Are you alright?  
FROM: DAN  
10:06:48

* * *

Let me just say this straight off the bat: there is no happy ending to this reality. If you're looking for happy endings, go to Ellinia or Orbis. They have bloody fairies, for god's sake. _That's _where you find your goddamned happily-ever-afters. Kerning City _isn't _a bad place: it just happens to be _the _city that contains all the horrendous, corrupted people _(like me)_. Maybe one time it was actually pretty, or maybe it was born as grey and disgusting as it is now.

But who gives a shit anyway? It sucks in KC, there's no denying it. It sucks so, so badly. One time I actually thought I could escape, but Lukas put a quick stop to that. No, I don't blame him at all. I am his _property _so you can do what he likes with me, but more on that later.

Maybe this is going to end up as history one day.

Joe, signing _out._


End file.
